Why Is There So Much Evil in the World?
We’ve all asked it. Some of us are still asking it.
If God is good, then why is the world so broken?
It’s not just a philosophical question. It’s personal.
When a friend gets cancer;
When another shooting hits the news;
When our own story includes wounds we didn’t ask for or hurt we didn’t expect.
We want a God who is powerful and loving, but when evil hits hard, we start to wonder if he’s either.
And yet, the Bible doesn't avoid this tension.
It speaks directly into it.
God Created Love—And That Requires Real Choice
If you’ve been around me, you’ve heard me say it before:
Forced love isn’t love.
That’s the heartbeat of free will.
In Why Does God Allow Evil?, Dr. Clay Jones writes:
“God could have created a world where people never did evil—but it wouldn’t have been a world where people could truly love.” (Clay Jones, Why Does God Allow Evil?)
Love must be chosen for it to be true love.
Every real choice carries a risk— the risk of rebellion.
That’s exactly what happened in the beginning.
“God saw all that He had made, and it was very good.” Genesis 1:31
Everything God made was good— not perfect (the Bible doesn’t say that), but it was good. He created everything in love and he gave angels and humans the dignity of choice.
And they chose against him.
The chief adversary, some call him Lucifer, rebelled. Then Adam and Eve.
Then… all of us.
Evil Is a Parasite
C.S. Lewis described evil this way:
“Evil is a parasite. It is there only because good is there for it to spoil and confuse.”
(C.S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain)
Evil isn’t a substance—it’s a distortion of what God made good.
It’s not a created thing. It’s a corrupted thing. Evil occurs as the absence of good and good is God.
Evil is not a created thing. Evil is the absence of good.
Just as darkness is the absence of light, and cold is the absence of heat— evil is what remains when God is rejected, resisted, or removed.
This idea has strong theological roots with the thinking of Augustine of Hippo, a Church Father from the 4th century, who argued that:
“Evil has no positive nature; but the loss of good has received the name ‘evil.’” (St. Augustine, City of God, Book XI)
Similarly, C.S. Lewis, in Mere Christianity, wrote:
“Badness is only spoiled goodness. And there must be something good first before it can be spoiled.”
And Dr. Clay Jones, in Why Does God Allow Evil?, expands on this:
“God did not create evil—He created free beings. And evil came to exist when they chose to rebel.”
Evil Is Real, But It’s Not Original.
It’s not authored by God. It’s the result of choosing not God.
And the good news?
“The light shines in the darkness, and yet the darkness did not overcome it.” John 1:5
The source of most of the evil in the world— it's not “out there.” It’s from people. Me. You; You. Me. Us.
Apostle Paul wrote, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:23
Clay Jones emphasizes this in his book:
“Much of what people call the problem of evil is really just the problem of human evil—the abuse of free will.”
We don’t like to hear that. We want to blame God for having some part in it.
But Scripture shows us: the problem isn’t God.
The problem is sin. Sin occurs when we are apart from God. Because sin is alive in us, evil occurs the farther we get from God and his goodness by choosing to do things our own way. The more we do things our own way, the more evil persists and runs rampant in the world wherever humans go.
God Didn’t Leave Us in the Wreckage
Here’s the part we can’t skip:
God stepped into the evil.
He didn’t watch from a distance.
He entered the story and came in close— in flesh, in blood, and in our mess.
Enter Jesus.
“While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8
The cross and Christ’s empty tomb is God's ultimate answer to evil.
He doesn’t ignore it—He absorbs it.
C.S. Lewis again, from Mere Christianity:
“God has landed on this enemy-occupied world in human form to fight the evil from within.”
Jesus suffered because we took our evil out on him.
He was betrayed, falsely accused, beaten, murdered.
And in that suffering, He won.
“He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that, having died to sins, we might live for righteousness.” 1 Peter 2:24
That’s our hope. He’s our rescue.
Not a theory. Not a cold explanation.
A real person. A real Savior.
Why Doesn’t God Stop Evil Now?
Maybe you’re still wondering: why not end it all today?
Because God is just—but he is also patient. And if he was to stop it now, he would need to start with getting rid of me, and you, us.
“The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise… but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish but all to come to repentance.” 2 Peter 3:9
If God destroyed evil now, he’d also have to destroy everyone who hasn’t yet turned to him, but because he loves us— he waits.
His justice is coming.
“And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire… and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.” Revelation 20:10
One day, God will crush evil—completely, finally, forever.
Until then, he invites us to trust him.
To repent.
To walk in his light and follow Jesus. The closer we are to him, the farther we are from evil and the effects of sin.
What’s Our Response?
God gave us a choice. This is because he loves us and remember, forced love isn’t love.
Real love must be a choice.
What we do with that choice matters—eternally.
“I call heaven and earth as witnesses… I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Choose life.” Deuteronomy 30:19
So the question isn’t just why is there evil?
It’s what will we do with the only One who can save us from it?
God didn’t create evil.
But he conquered it by what Jesus did on the cross and his resurrection.
And he’s coming again to finish what he started.
We have the choice, today.
I invite you to choose Jesus.
He’s the way.
He’s the truth.
He’s the life.
He’s the answer to our problem of evil and sin and all our guilt and shame and burdens of this life.
Jesus asked us a couple questions and then gave us an open invitation.
“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” Matthew 11:28-30 MSG
How will you choose?
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